Weekend Sober Thread: Shit's Gettin' Real in Egypt

As cliche as it is, the answer probably just a mixture of ego, habit, and delusion. He thinks this will blow over after there's a new parliament and he promises to make some reforms. I bet he's already planning how to exclude his opponents from the next election.

On the other hand, his son got the message.

 

I was under the impression that my finger was trully on the pulse of world affiars via the informative reporting of the esteemed media.

- Paris Hilton had put on weight.
- Miranda Kerr had a baby.
- Charlie Sheen has halted filming of Two and a Half Men.
- Fruit and vegetable prices in Australia were set to rise , partly due to the floods.


But the happenings in Egypt ? Wow ... caught me totally by suprise.

 

<a class="postlink" href="http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFN3014966520110130" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews ... 6520110130</a>

If only you spoke Hovitos!

 

Egypt's military leaders are among the most prominent, powerful individuals in the country, possessing nearly undisputed authority. Their primary goal will be retention of that authority. Divisive internal conflict weakens them all and puts their power at unnecessary risk, so whether they decide to support Mubarak or abandon him, my guess is that they will act in unison.

As for the following of orders by the Air Force, a fly-over is dramatic and intimidating, but very obviously harmless. The real test of their loyalties will come if Mubarak orders actual violence be done. Again, my bet is that, should he do that, the military as a whole will tell him to shove it. These generals don't want to inherit rubble, which is all large-scale attacks would produce.

 

Wait, Miranda Kerr had a baby? With Orlando Bloom? Oh, now my whole day is ruined.

 

This is assuming they think they'd be left in place with Mubarak gone. If the generals are seen as too connected to the current government, they might feel their own heads are on the chopping block as well.

While it appears the average GI Junayd have the support of the protesters, the military leadership might be viewed differently, just as in the US we tend to view soldiers differently than the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs.

 

Anyone else think our government's "give them a space to express their grievances" position sounds like we're saying "they'll tire themselves out, and then we can put them down for a nap" ?

 

Well, that's what we get for supporting "democracy" when it suits us. I am not a fan AT ALL of the US's policy to relabel dictators as "Presidents", call their dictatorship democracy due to the existence of a parliament, and fund their regimes.

We're trying to avoid embarrassment, but at this point that's impossible.

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if we allied with fucking Myanmar since their new "disciplined democracy" (read: same ol' shit) was formed.

 

Like I said earlier on this thread, if the French Revolution were today, we'd support the monarchy out of fear that the rebels would be influenced by Russia or China.

Not to downplay what's going on in Egypt, but I think this provides an excellent chance to examine what we, as Americans (for those of us who are Americans, and maybe some Canadians too) believe in. 50,000 American soldiers died in the American Revolution, and I think that investment was a bargain for the freedoms we inherited. It's life AND liberty, not life THEN liberty. I think there's a fair debate to have about interference in other nations, but interfering in support of oppression ought to just be clearly wrong.

Sad we don't see that it's clear.

 

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/8fflmc

Likelihood of a total media blackout is terrifying. I don't know enough about this, but I hope for the best. Whatever that is.

 

This is the part that really torments my tackle. It's one thing to not confront every evil dictator on the planet, but why the hell do we have to take the extra step of funding them? If these types of things were ever put to a popular vote, I can't imagine more than 5% of people supporting any of the policies we have in place by which we funnel money to madmen. Someone should do a fucking cost/benefit analysis on all the money we've given to foreign governments (not charity related) and what benefit it has provided us.

 

Yes , but if there is any justice in this world , it will grow up to be one ugly bastard.

 

Don't you remember what Woodrow Wilson said to Congress when asking to enter the First World War?

We must make the world safe for our democracy.

 

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/us-egypt-jazeera-arrests-idUSTRE70U2QZ20110131" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/ ... QZ20110131</a>

Mubarak has gone from simply telling Al Jazeera to stop operations and cutting off broadcasts in Egypt to arresting journalists. And, as we learned from The Phantom Menace, a communications blackout can only mean one thing: invasion.

...Or in a universe where things tend to make sense, this probably means Mubarak plans to entrench himself, and things are likely to get worse before they get better.

Edit: Al Jazeera's official Twitter says 6.

 

What sort of impact do you think this will have on US domestic issues? Seems like as this continues to escalate, focus will be pulled away from any momentum to tackle economic policies. Will this end up being a test for President Obama and his administration, and therefore have a profound effect on the 2012 election?

Watching this upheaval displays a stark contrast in the US. Democrats and Republicans hate each other, and both think that the other side is full of idiots, who will stop at nothing to undermine policy change. Yet, whether it be the transition from Bush to Obama, or the recent Dem House to Rep House, it's a peaceful transition. God bless America.

 

Video of protesters forcing the state police off of a bridge crossing the Nile on Friday. The bridge connects to Tahrir Square, so this was a pretty big victory for the protesters.

 

The protests seem to be gaining momentum rather than losing it.

CNN is reporting long lines for food, fuel, etc but the supplies seem to be there. Shit will get real interesting when they start running out.

Think they'll pull off the planned "million man" march tomorrow?

 

Tweet from comedian Jim Norton

Good one, Jimmy

 

Mubarak appointed a new head of the Interior Ministry, Mahmoud Wagdy.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/new-government-appointments-unconfirmed" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/ne ... nconfirmed</a>

Looks like he's just more of the same, so his appointment will probably just get the protesters even more riled up.

Maybe more importantly though, a few new appointees have declined to take positions in the government. They must have access to YouTube.

 

As far as policy goes, isn't this really a no brainer? Being America, you know the biggest democracy in the world that has stands for freedom and justice for all, shouldn't we be backing the protesters? How can doing that in any way be bad for us if the winds of change in the region are blowing so strongly in that direction? Especially if, as I have read in this thread, that Egypt is so westernized? Wouldn't that just make them more of an ally in the future? It certainly seems to me that Muslim extremists are not behind this and that any regime change would be welcomed.